Death of Transforming
by VeggieTales Gal
Summary: Micah lost the Transform spell, and he can't stay in his wooly form for over a week, or he'll die! When he finds out that a Monster God took it, will he be forced to put his family in danger for his sake, as he is getting weaker every day? T for violence.
1. Prologue: So Happy

I FINALLY have more inspiration! Rune Factory 3! RUNE FACTORY 3! **RUNE FACTORY 3!** The settings of this story are based on my game file. Yes; I named Micah's children Michal, Michel, and Michol. You know, I was originally going to supply the person who (correctly) figured out how and why I named my (many) OCs what they were named, but I decided that NO ONE would EVER be able to figure it out. So, I'll tell you after the prologue. Also, I'll tell you how I got my pairings.

Also, am I the only one who thinks that Rune Factory is set in an anachrony Middle Age?

Prologue: So Happy…

As I lay down in the Flower Field of Privera Forest, I reflected upon the life I had been leading for the past 18 years since I arrived in my beloved Sharance. Since I came here, I've repaired ties between humans and monsters (with help, of course), I've helped the Sharance Flowers to bloom, I've gotten married to the beautiful but physically unconfident Elder of the Univir Settlement, Kuruna, I've had three beautiful children (Michal, a girl, who will be 17 in Winter, Michel, a boy, who is 15, and Michol, a boy, who will be 14 in a couple of weeks), and, when Mayor Wells passed away, I was made Mayor of Sharance, much to my amazement, as I am a foreigner.

Many of the village girls have gotten married as well and have had children. Collete and Carlos have a daughter named Laura (pronounced LAO-rah), Evelyn and Gaius have a daughter named Vera. Marian and Ondorus have a daughter named Fortuna. Pia and Kai (Pia's merprince fiancé who came to bring Pia back to the sea, but happily married her on land when she refused) have a son named Tuna (yes, Tuna). Raven and Zaid have a boy and a girl named Francis and Lacey. Shara and Samson (an old friend of mine from when I was a soldier in the Noradian Army) have a daughter named Hannah. Rusk and Sofia have two boys named Nero and Deboro. All of these children are friends, but they each have their own little groups. It's so sweet.

I love my life here in Sharance. I love my family, I love my friends, and I love the rustic air of this village. I could never leave my family. Not in a million years. When I die, I'll die with my family. I swear it. Blaise, Carlos, Carmen, Collette, Daria, Deboro, Evelyn, Fortuna, Francis, Gaius, Hannah, Hazel, Kai, Karina, Kuruna, Lacey, Laura, Marian, Michal, Michel, Michol, Monica, Nero, Ondorus, Pia, Raven, Rusk, Sakuya, Samson, Shara, Sherman, Shino, Sofia, Tuna, Vera, and Zaid. This is my family.

"Daddy!" Michal, my beautiful daughter, called out to me. "Mum says it's time to go home and have supper! Can we have cake for dessert?" Michal is a little spoiled, like her mother. However, she loves combat and farming, just like I do. She dreams of taking over the farm when I pass away, because she has the greatest passion for it of my three children, and she's the oldest child.

"I'll make the cake! You know I love to cook for my family, anytime, any day." Sweet and loving, my older son, Michel, is a real prince. I guess he takes after me in that sense! Ha ha! Michel is also very well-read and smart, and loves to read every chance he gets. "Maybe we could have some friends over tonight to share our meal with? Although, that would steal Blaise's customers for the night… That wouldn't be nice…"

"Cake! Cake! Brother's making cake! Cakey cake cake!" Michol, my youngest child, is adorable and hyper. He loves candy and sweets to no end, just like his mother. Also, he can transform into a wooly without the use of a spellbook, which is pretty incredible. It must be the Univir blood. They're quite good with magic. My three children are the leaders of the village youth, because they're the oldest children in the village.

"Now, children; we never said, 'Yes,' to cake. However, who could turn down one of Michel's chocolate cakes, now? Alright, let's go home and have some yummy cake! …After dinner, of course." What a lover of sweets my beloved Kuruna is… I adore her for it. I absolutely, positively adore her for it. My family was heading towards the entrance of Privera, but I was lagging behind. I had an idea that would show my appreciation for all that Kuruna has done. "Come on, Honey! We're hungry!"

"I'll meet you back at the tree in ten minutes! I have something that I want to do," I called out to her, running back to the Flower Field. When my family didn't follow me, I assumed that they had gone back to the Sharance Tree, our home. I, however, was picking flowers in my wooly form, planning to give them to my Kuruna when I got home. I was in my wooly form because that's how I had met Kuruna. I was in my wooly form when I met her.

When I had finished picking the flowers, I ran home, only to find a huge spread on the table. "You guys really outdid yourselves!" I exclaimed when I saw all of the food. Then, I walked up to my wife, and held out the bouquet. "Kuruna, this is for you. This is for all that you've done as an Elder, a mother, a wife, and a friend. We'll always be together, whether I'm a wooly or a human."

Kuruna took the flowers gracefully from my paws, and kissed my furry little mouth. "Thank you so much, Micah. I love you so much." Our three children, who were all romantics at heart, let out a big, "Awwwwwwwwwwww!" The thing is, we're so used to PDAs in front of our children, we weren't embarrassed at all.

"Now, who wants to eat?" I said enthusiastically. There was a loud cheer, and we all took our seats at the table. The food was positively delicious, and the cake was so scrumptious! They're all such good and resourceful cooks; I'm not worried about them one bit. It was so much fun, talking and laughing while we ate our meal. Afterwards, Kuruna and I told fairy tales to our children as if they were 5 years old. They loved fairy tales so much. I was so happy… Then, it was time for bed. I decided to sleep in my wooly form because it would seem more romantic. However… I would find out the next morning that I shouldn't have…

Tee hee hee! I'm such a romantic! What can I say? Now, about my explanations of names and couples… I decided that it's too long to post in the prologue. It'll be on my profile page in a jiff!


	2. Chapter I: Six Days

Chapter I: Six Days

I woke up at 6:00 am, as always. I was still a wooly. My fur was tangled from all the tossing and turning I had done in my sleep, so I couldn't wait to brush my fur. But first, I had to wake Michal. Michal, as I mentioned before, wants to take over the farm. I completely support that (in fact, it's in my will already), but before she can be a professional farmer, she needs to help me out. That includes getting up at 6:00, tilling the fields, sowing seeds, watering crops, harvesting, and learning how to take care of animals.

Now, the hollow of the tree is too small for the five of us to live sleep in it, so we had a little cottage built near the fields for my children to live in. I have to be very quiet when I go to wake Michal up so I don't wake the other children. And that's what I did. I crept along the sturdy wooden floor, making a mental note to fix any creaking boards, and I quietly opened Michal's door when I got to it. "Good morning, Daddy," my daughter greeted me, already up and ready to get to work.

"Michal! I wasn't expecting you to be up already! Good for you!" I whispered, clapping my paws. "Now, let's get to work. We'll be done before breakfast." Michal walked over to me, and followed me out of the cottage very quietly. When we exited the cottage, I turned to her and said, "Since I can't do anything when I'm a wooly, I'll just transform." So, I did the little twirly transform moves… But nothing happened. "…Hmm, that's odd," I mumbled. Michal looked worried. "I wonder if I did it incorrectly…" I reached into my bag to take out the Transform spellbook, but it was… gone.

"Ohhhhhhhhhh shhhhhhoot… I must have dropped it in the Flower Field last night. Come on, let's go, Michal!" And with that, we ran off. "So much for being done before breakfast," Michal said. "But, I guess it can't be helped. Unless you didn't write in your diary this morning… Which I know you did out of habit." It was true, though. I HAD written in my diary this morning. "It's a good thing I know where it is," I said as we entered Privera Forest.

We reached the Flower Field, far from out of breath, and we started searching. "It's got to be around here somewhere… I just know it! Michal, look as hard as you can!" Michal and I looked everywhere for it. "If it was in town, we would have seen it, so it's got to be here somewhere!" I was really worried. What if a monster had taken it? Or worse, a human? A human could sell it. A monster would keep it.

Michal and I looked for an hour, but still no luck whatsoever. "Michal, I need you to go get Auntie Shara. I have a huge favour to ask her. Can I trust you with this?" Shara and I, although we definitely weren't real siblings, were close enough to be brother and sister. So, she became my children's honourary aunt. "Yeah, I'll go get her!" Michal called out to me, running off. "She'll most likely get sprayed with perfume while she's there, but that wouldn't take long. Michal is a smart girl. Meanwhile, I kept searching.

About 10 minutes later, Michal came back with Shara, smelling like fish. "_Yup, she got perfume…_" I thought. "_Well, Carlos, Carmen, Laura, Kai, Pia, Tuna, Sakuya, and Shino will like how she smells…_" I looked at Shara with a huge amount of regret for what I was about to ask her. Hopefully she'd understand. "Shara, I have a HUGE favour to ask of you. Now, I would completely understand if you said no, because you worked so hard on this field, but…"

"Michal already explained the situation to me, Micah. I'll cut the flowers. However, in exchange, you must help me regrow this patch of flowers. OK?" I was very thankful that Shara understood. To be honest, though, she didn't understand the gravity of the situation… "Thank you so much, Shara. I also insist on paying you 50,000G to make up for this. I'm so sorry." Shara smiled, accepted my payment, and cut all of the flowers in one fell swoop of my Legend Sickle that I let her borrow.

"Thank you so much, Auntie Shara!" Michal said, helping Shara to pick up the flowers she had cut. "You'll make a huge profit off of these! I'll definitely buy some when I get the chance!" Shara smiled and said, "I guess you're right. It WILL make a huge profit! I big enough profit to make life better for everyone in the village!" Shara collected all of the flowers… somehow… and skipped off to put these flowers up for sale.

Our search would be easier now. Michal and I continued to look for the book, although we were as muddy as anything. I guess I should have mentioned that it was raining that day. "Urgh! It's impossible to find anything in here! Even with the flowers gone! We're getting baths after this, don't you worry," I said to Michal. I was so nervous, though. What if we couldn't find it? What if someone (or something) had taken it?

At 12, we gave up. "It's not here, Daddy. It's gone." As soon as Michal said that, I started crying. "Daddy? Don't worry! We'll get it back! I promise we'll get it back! We'll definitely find it! Then, you can be human again!" By now, it was storming. "_Great… Now the crops are ruined…_" I thought. Even in these circumstances, I had farming on my mind. "We have to find it within the next six days, Michal."

"Why the next six, Daddy? Is there something important happening in six days?"

"No, Michal. We have to find quickly because if I'm in this form for more than a week, I'll die."


	3. Chapter II: Voices of Wisdom

Chapter II: Voices of Wisdom

"…Die? I-I don't understand! How could you die?" It took Michal's mind seconds for the news to sink in. I had lost my Transform spellbook the night before, and if I didn't get transform into a human within a week of the transformation, I would die. I didn't want to die. I couldn't leave my family!

"I should explain to you how the Transform spell works," I said to my confused daughter. "When I transform, I can't do it on my own. I call upon Runes to help me change my physical appearance. Maintaining a transformation is tiring for Runes, so those Runes call upon other Runes to maintain my transformation until I tell them that they are released. That's when I turn back into a human. However, it's really the spellbook that's doing all of the work. Your brother is special; he can turn into a wooly on his own. It must be his Univir blood. However, I can't do that on my own. I need the spellbook to help me."

Michal understood why it was crucial that I got that spellbook back. "So, because the original Runes are still working to keep your transformation, the build-up of Runes in your body would eventually be too much to handle, and would eventually kill you. Is that right, Daddy?"

"Yes, Michal. That's right," I said. As I said before, Michal was a very smart girl, and she caught on quickly. "When I first came to Sharance, I didn't know whether I was really a wooly or a human. But then, Samson came along, and my memory started to return even more than when I obtained my memory orbs. Then, I remembered the conversation I had with my father, the wooly, about what happened when I transformed."

Michal and I just stared at each other for about a minute before she broke down and cried. "Oh… Daddy! I don't want you to die! You can't die!" She ran over to me and picked me up, just cradling me. "It'll be OK, Michal… I know it'll be OK…" The thing was, I was making empty promises. I didn't know whether or not it would be OK. I didn't know if I would be able to find it. Before I knew it, I had started to cry, too.

Suddenly, the rest of my family appeared; Kuruna, Michel, and Michol. When they saw us crying, and that I was still a wooly, they ran up to us. "Wh-What's going on?" Kuruna asked us, a look of fear in her eyes. "Daddy?" Michel and Michol chimed in. Michal looked up at them, both of us still crying, and she said, "Mum! We need to find Daddy's Transform spellbook by the end of the week, or else… or else…"

"Or else what?" Kuruna screamed, looking ready to cry as well. "What will happen to your father if we don't find the Transform spell?" Michel and Michol were already weeping, worried about what Michal would say. "Will he be a wooly forever? MICHAL, WHAT WILL HAPPEN?" Kuruna screamed, large, hot tears running down her red face.

"DADDY WILL DIE!" Michal suddenly screamed out. Suddenly, the only sound was the sound of the rain, the thunder, and the lightning. That silence was broken by Kuruna falling to the ground and breaking into tears. "Micah… MICAH!" Michal let me down, and I ran over to Kuruna. Kuruna swept me up into the biggest hug I've ever gotten from her, and I let her cry on my shoulder. To be honest, I was crying, too.

"I don't want to leave you, Kuruna," I said through my sobs. "I don't want to leave my family alone. My family is the only thing that I have to live for. And now… I might have to leave you!" My three children started to cry when I said that. "I'm not like Michol. I can't transform on my own. I need that book!"

We cried for about an hour. Or, it seemed like an hour. It was truthfully only 15 minutes. Every second seemed like my last. I was getting tired… The Runes were taking my energy. When we finished crying, I made a suggestion. "I guess we'd better ask all of the townsfolk if they've seen my book. I hope this is all just some big misunderstanding…" We all pulled ourselves together, and went around to all of the people of Sharance.

We finished our quest about an hour later. However, all of the people we asked had the same answer: "No." Things weren't looking up for us. We didn't tell the villagers why it was urgent that we find it, or else they would all go into frenzy, as I am their mayor. Suddenly, we were at the beach. Carmen, Carlos, Laura, and Collette were the last people we asked. "Damn it! _Damn _it!" I said forcefully. This was the first time I had sworn since I arrived in Sharance.

"…Honey!" Kuruna suddenly cried out, snapping her fingers. "I just had the most brilliant idea! If there's anyone who would know where Transform went, it's Aquaticus!" I just stared at her, considering this idea. "Kuruna," I said, "You're a genius! Why didn't I think of that? Alright guys! We're going to see Aquaticus!" I looked through my bag for fitting weapons for my wife and children. "Kuruna, you take this Magic Broom! Michal, take my Rune Legend! Michel, equip this Twin Justice! Michol, use the Splash Star! We're going to Dragon Cave!"

Because there wasn't enough room on my Lily Pad, we went back to the tree and took the shortcut to Dragon Cave. Because I couldn't use weapons in my state, I would just brawl. It's really rather fun. Before we knew it, we had reached Aquaticus' chamber. "The orbs are so pretty!" Michol said, touching the Privera Forest Memory Orb. Suddenly, he gasped, and went into a trance. I wasn't worried. He was just seeing my memory. No one could do that except those from my line. "That was so cool, Dad!" he said when the memory was finished.

"**What is it that you wish to speak to me about?**" a loud, thundering voice suddenly said. "**Oh, Micah; it is you. Your wife and your children are here as well. You are not human. Am I to assume that you wish to know what has happened to your spellbook?**" As always, Aquaticus, the great Dragon God of the Waters was right on the money. "Yes, Aquaticus. Do you know where my Transform spell is? I assume you know what happens if I am in this form for a week."

"**I know what has happened to your tome,**" Aquaticus replied. "**I shall tell you, for you have won my respect. Plus, I owe you something after all I've done to you. The tome was taken by a monster.**" I breathed out in relief. "**However, it is not just any monster. He is a Monster God. He has many forms, but is usually in the form of a book. I assume that you've heard something about the book that eats people's memories?**"

"My friend Ondorus told me about that book! I had no idea it was a Monster God!" I cried out. "**Very few creatures are aware of this,**" Aquaticus said. "**This God is very powerful. More powerful than the four Dragon Gods combined! However, it has no intention of dominating this universe. It only wants to eat the memories of the strong and the weak alike. You will need the help of all of your people to defeat this monstrosity.**"

"But I don't want to put my family in danger! I can't! I wouldn't be able to bear it if any one of them were severely injured… I would rather DIE than put my family in danger!" I vowed that I would do this on my own. I wouldn't accept the help of anyone in my family. It would be too much to bear if anything happened…

"**Know this: you will not be able to do this alone. That's why you will also have the Dragon Gods on your side. You WILL need help. You will need help from your family. You cannot live your life doing everything on your own. You need to take risks. You are dismissed.**" And with that, Aquaticus sent all five of us back to the Sharance Tree. "…What now, Daddy?" Michal asked me. "I don't know…" I replied.


	4. Chapter III: Rallying Together, We Fight

Chapter III: Rallying Together, We Fight!

At 8:00 PM, the entire village was gathered in the Plaza so I could make the announcement of my situation. The whole place was buzzing, wondering what I could have to say this late. "My dear friends!" I called out, and the whole place fell completely silent. "Thank you. I have a very important announcement to make! You may wonder why I'm still a wooly. I lost my spellbook, and I need it to change back! If I don't get it in approximately 5 days, I will die!" And with that, everyone gasped.

"Luckily, I know what took it. Ondorus, do you remember when you told me about the book that eats people's memories?" Ondorus thought for a second, his wife and child looking at him worriedly, and said, "Yes, Micah. I do remember." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "Do you have any idea where that book is? Because Aquaticus told me that that's what took my book!" Again, Ondorus thought for a second. "I don't remember…" he said. "However, I know where the information on that book is located! If you'll excuse me…" And with that, he ran off to go find the information.

Everyone started to talk amongst themselves. I was very nervous. What if Ondorus couldn't find the book? Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around, only to see 10-year-old Fortuna, Ondorus and Marian's only child. "Don't worry, Mayor Micah. Dad will find the information you need; I'm sure of it! And when he does, I'll whip up a bunch of my super-dee-duper Invinciroids for everyone!" I smiled and chuckled. Experimenting is in Fortuna's blood, but, thankfully, she's much more rational than Marian was when I first met her.

"I'm afraid you're only going to need to make one, Fortuna," I said. "I'm going to do this on my own. I don't want to put anyone in danger. I know that Invinciroids make people invincible, but that's only for a 12 hour period. And who knows how long this fight will last?" Fortuna looked disappointed, but said, "Alright, Mayor Micah. I'll make it the best Invinciroid ever!" I smiled at her, and said, "There's a good girl." Fortuna skipped back to her mother's side.

Soon enough, Ondorus was running into the plaza. "I have the book!" he exclaimed, seeming out of breath. Everyone clapped for his efforts. "Now, does the book say where the monster is?" I asked him anxiously. Ondorus flipped to the page that the information on the monster was, and, after a quick read-through, his eyes widened, and he grinned. "The book… it's in Palermo, the capital of Norad," he said. My eyes widened as well. The capital of Norad? My home city! "_Mother… Father…_" I thought. I wanted to see my parents. My mother looked like a princess, and my father was the burliest, manliest wooly I had ever seen.

"It's settled, then!" I declared. "I'll be leaving for Palermo tonight. The quickest way is through Oddward Valley, the Fall dungeon." Everyone started to protest, saying that I couldn't go alone in my condition. "I'll be fine! I promise!" I tried to shout over the crowd. When the shouting didn't stop, I became extremely irritated. "_FTUUUUUU-UUUUUU!_" Came the whistle from my furry lips. The plaza suddenly became eerily quiet. "I have made my choice!" I said angrily. "There is no way, I repeat, NO WAY I'm going to let any of you risk hurting yourselves! You can all go home now. I'll see you in no later than five days."

When everyone had dispersed, my wife walked over to me from where she had been standing behind me. "Honey," she said sternly. "Are you REALLY going to do this on your own? Without even the help of your wife and children?" I looked up at her and sighed. "My mind is made up, Kuruna. I can't risk hurting any of you. If any of you got so much as a scratch, I wouldn't be able to live with myself!"

"Even if it means getting yourself killed?" Kuruna shouted, worry and fear in her voice. "What if YOU died, Micah? What then? We've been together for almost 17 years; I don't want to lose you now! I'm not ready! Not when you still have maybe more than 40 years left of life to live! You… no, WE have THREE children, one of them barely a teenager! What if they lost their father?" I could feel the hatred of my mission in my beloved wife's voice. It made me shiver in fear.

"I'm sorry, Kuruna… I have to do this alone. I need to. I swear upon my life that this is not a suicide mission. I'll return alive." I gave Kuruna a hug, a few tears betraying my need for serenity. Kuruna's tears were unstoppable. I gave my children hugs, and then left to defeat the monster that destroyed a part of me. I started to run, never looking back. I couldn't stop myself from crying. I didn't usually cry this much. This was an extremely emotional time for me and my family…

Before I knew it, I was at the end of Oddward Valley, where the mountain pass to the city was. Sharance is actually remarkably close to Palermo… When I tried to go down the mountain, I was knocked back by an invisible force. "**Micah!**" a voice called out. It didn't take a genius to figure out that it was Aquaticus. "Aquaticus, sir?" I called out, looking around.

"**Micah, I will not let you go down the mountain alone. I told you once and I'll tell you again: it is vital that you bring your family! Only then will I let you down the mountain. Do I make myself clear?**" I took a deep breath. "**Apparently not,**" Aquaticus said. "**Very well. If you can defeat all five of the escaped monsters right now, I'll let you go alone. If not, you bring your family.**"

Suddenly, I found myself in a full-out war with the Racoon, Skelefang, the Twin Lion Beasts, and Death Wall! I was caught off-guard, allowing all of them to pounce on me, seriously damaging me. However, I quickly shook them off, and fought with all my heart. I defeated the Racoon and one of the Beasts, but suddenly, I felt extremely drained. I collapsed.

Aquaticus sent all of the remaining monsters to the First Forest, and healed me. "What happened? Normally, I would have beaten all of them in a flash!" The earth around me trembled. "**Already you are becoming weaker, Micah! You wouldn't survive a fight against the Monster God alone! If you can't defeat such simple monsters, he would kill you before you even had a chance to hit him!**" I fell back in fear. I was already that weak? But, no! I would have rather DIED than put anyone in danger! But… But then… I remembered Kuruna's words…

"_I don't want to lose you now! I'm not ready!_"

I took another deep breath. At that moment, I realized that I would rather put everyone in danger than leave my wife alone. "I'll be right back with my family, Aquaticus." If the Water Dragon God had physically been there, I knew that he would have smiled. "**Good,**" he said before disappearing from my mind. Reluctantly, I teleported to my house. "Micah!" Kuruna exclaimed, sweeping me up into a hug. "Everyone is in the plaza. Let's go!" When Kuruna and I arrived at the plaza, I realized that she wasn't joking. Everyone was there in fighting gear. I laughed when I saw Pia's family all wielding fish.

"We knew that you weren't going to leave without us, Honey," Kuruna said with a smile. "So, we gathered everyone together, made sure we were completely prepared, and even made sure we had enough money to pay for the… 37 of us. We're all going to Palermo, even Tuna and Lacey. Besides… I want to meet your parents. You're from Palermo, right? Therefore, your parents must live there. I also know that you were a very prominent soldier there, working directly for the King. Tell me, do you remember the King's name?"

I thought for a moment before remembering. "King Vani VIII the Humble," I said. "And I was… a sergeant… I think… I don't really remember." Suddenly, a large hand grabbed my shoulder and a voice behind me said, "Yup, your name was Sergeant Micah, one of the King's favourites. You were on your way to becoming captain of the guard before you disappeared, too." I looked behind me and saw my childhood friend, Samson, now the husband of my honourary sister, Shara.

"The King will be mighty pleased to see ya, Mike. Your parents will be in hysterics. Your little brother will probably beat you up in an act of brotherly love." …Little brother? Wait a moment… "Loue! I… I completely forgot about my baby brother… Until now… Oh, he's reason enough to stay away from the city… But, I can't wait for him to meet my family…"

So, that night, we all left Sharance. I was scared for everyone's life, but we had no choice. We were in Palermo by morning. I was still worrying over the reactions that my parents and my brother would give me. Loue WOULD beat me up. Mom and Dad WOULD be in hysterics. However… If I wanted to live, this is what I had to do. I just hoped that it wouldn't end in tragedy…

Teeheehee~ I know, Micah's reasoning makes NO sense, but… it's complicated. BTW, as you read, I'm going to let all of you meet Micah's immediate family: Mick, his father, Aurelia, his mother, and Loue, his little brother! Micah is 38 in this story, BTW, and his brother's 27. Another thing, in the fight scene between Kuruna and Micah, I always imagine Where the Wind and Feathers Return [Radiant Historia Piano Arrange] playing in the background. You can find it on YouTube, if you'd like to listen to it!


	5. Chapter IV: A Tearful Reunion

Chapter IV: A Tearful Reunion

As I said before, we were in Palermo by dawn. I was scared. What if my parents refused to let me into the house, even? What if Loue refused to speak to me? What then? I needed their support more than anything. If I didn't have their support, I would lose all will to fight. Soon, we were around the street that I used to live on. "_I wonder what they look like now… I wonder how much Loue has grown… He's 27 right now, so the last time I saw him was when he was 9…_"

I looked at my wife and children and said, "You four should come with me. Everyone else! Stay here, please!" The five of us walked over to my house ("_I'm glad it's in tip-top shape…_"). I was shaking and my heart was pounding. It took a while for me to get the courage to open the door, but when I did, I walked right in and said, "I'm ho-ome!" My family followed me in. "You're home early, Loue…" A woman walked to the porch from the kitchen, and her sentence stopped short when she saw me.

"You're not Loue…" Mom said, walking up to me. Suddenly, her eyes widened and were filled with tears. "M… Mic… ah?" she said unsurely, as if the name was a new word to her. "Is… Is that really you?" I smiled sadly at her and said, "Hi, Mom." Mom swept me up into a cradling position, and started screaming, "MICK! MICK! GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!"

"WHAT IS IT, AURELIA? I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING!" I heard Dad yell from upstairs. "DITCH IT! MICAH'S HOME, MICK! _MICAH IS HOME_!" I heard a flurry of hoof-beats as Dad rushed down the stairs. My old warhorse of a father… "Micah!" he cried out, galloping over to me. (My father's part-ram and he looks like one. He's mainly wooly, though.) "My son's come home!" Dad started to cry hysterically, putting one of his four legs around me. "We thought you were dead, Micah… We never thought we'd see you again! My son…"

All three of cried for a little while before pulling ourselves together. "Our apologies," Mom said to my family behind us. "Wait a moment, we've never met before. Micah, who are these four people behind you?" I turned around and saw that my family looked rather embarrassed. "Oh! This is my family! This is my wife, Kuruna," Kuruna curtsied, "and these are my children: Michal, Michel, and Michol."

"Our grandchildren!" Dad said, trotting over to them. "You can call me Grandad. I'm sure your grandmother would prefer Grandmama as her title." Michol couldn't resist petting Dad. "Furry!" he squealed. Dad laughed. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that Michol was 6! But I'm guessing he's almost 14?" I nodded, and Dad laughed again. "Then I suppose we can have a coming-of-age ceremony!" he said with a smile. Suddenly, that smiled disappeared. "Wait a moment… Micah, how long have you been a wooly?" I looked at him and said, "That's precisely why we've come to the capital: to fight the Monster God in the castle."

Dad scoffed and shook his head. Not at me, but at my predicament. "We'll help you. We promise. How long do you have, Mike?" I thought for a moment, then said, "Four and a half days." Mom gasped. "WHAT?" she exclaimed. "We have to get you to the King right away! Please tell me you're not going to fight that thing alone!" I shook my head and said, "No, I have 32 more people on my side, plus the Dragon Gods. I'm pretty lucky…" Mom ran upstairs for seemingly no reason whatsoever.

"Would you like to meet the people of my village? Your son is the mayor of Sharance!" I said to Dad. With that, we all ran out to meet Sharance's people. "Oh, there's Samson! Is that his wife and daughter with him?" Dad asked. "Yep! His wife's name is Shara, and his daughter's name is Hannah." I said. "By the way, where's Loue?" Dad turned to me and said, "Loue's out of the city. He'll be back by nightfall, maybe earlier. Ever since he became the Crown Princess' fiancé, he's had a lot to do to prepare to become King." I stumbled back a little bit. "Loue's marrying Crown Princess Jane the Virtuous?" I exclaimed. Princess Jane was… 25 at the time. I had met her once before I disappeared. In fact, she was at the debriefing of the mission that cost me my memory!

"You do realize that he'll probably knock you out cold when he sees you, right?" Dad asked. I sighed and shook my head. "I deserve more than that. I deserve to be sent to an early grave for disappearing like that…" Dad put a front leg around me again. "If there had been anything you could have done about it, you would have." I grabbed his hoof and held it for a while. "Well, we'd better get you and your family to see the King. I'm sure he'd give you an audience. You were one of his favourites, after all!"

I smiled, then realized something. "How IS Princess Jane, anyway?" I asked. Dad frowned a little bit. "Ever since her mother died, she's become a dark mess. She rarely makes public appearances, and when she does, she never smiles. She just raises a hand to make it look like she's waving. Hopefully she'll show a bit of happiness when she marries your brother." I still couldn't believe that Loue was going to marry Princess Jane… He was going to be King of Norad!

Mom suddenly appeared next to us with a sword in her hand. "Uh, Mom?" I said, looking at her. That thing was ferocious! "I'm going to help you fight the Monster God, Mikey." I just looked at her. "I never told you this, Micah, but I'm actually an Earthmate. That's why I could understand what your father was saying before he learned to speak in the human tongue. The only reason why you were even born was because of that." I was shocked. Not because she told me she was an Earthmate, but because I didn't figure that out sooner.

Soon, we were off to the palace where we would meet the King. "I wonder if he'll remember me…" I said to no one in particular. "Oh, he remembers you all right," Dad said. "He sends letters to us once a month to ask us if we had any leads on your location. To think that you were only 30 miles away in that little hick-town…" I wasn't going to deny that Sharance was a hick-town, because it is. There's virtually nothing to do there.

When we arrived at the castle, we faced virtually no trouble. When they saw Dad, they let all 39 of us right in. "I think that my family should join me when I meet the King," I said to Mom, Dad, Kuruna, and my kids. So, while the 7 of us went to get an audience, the rest of the village wandered around to areas that weren't blocked off. We soon reached the audience chamber, where, again, we faced virtually no trouble with the guards. "State your name and business," one of the guards said. "My name is Sergeant Micah, and I'm here to visit King Vani VIII the Humble." Both guards started when I said, "Sergeant Micah".

"R-Right away, sir!" the other guard said, opening the doors for us. My family and I walked in, only to find the King sitting at his throne, Crown Princess Jane sitting in an extravagant chair next to him. When he saw me, his eyes widened. He rubbed them to confirm that he wasn't seeing things, and when he saw that it was really me, he got up and cried out, "Micah!"

Isn't this sweet? I can't wait until you can read the next chapter!


	6. Chapter V: The King and the Princess

Chapter V: The King and the Princess

"Hello, sir. It's been quite a while, hasn't it?" Those were the first words I said to the King after my 18-year absence. The King laughed happily and walked over to me, crouching down to my height and taking one of my hands in his. "I'm so incredibly happy to see you!" the King said. "You honestly have no idea how many search parties I've sent to find you, Sergeant! Where have you been all this time?" I cracked the smallest smile and said, "Sharance." The King's eyes widened in shock. "By God, Micah, that's one of the closest towns to Palermo! Why didn't I think to look there…?"

I then looked at Princess Jane. She didn't seem happy to see me, but she didn't seem unhappy, either. She looked… neutral. "You heard that your brother is going to marry her soon, right?" the King asked me. "Yes," I said. "I also heard that the Queen died while I was away. I wish to express my deepest condolences, sir." The King shook his head sadly. "Leprosy. She must have caught it on our trip to a poor village." Leprosy? "But isn't that sort of thing curable?" I asked. The King nodded, but then said, "It is curable, but Esther had been sickly and prone to illness her entire life."

"_How tragic…_" I thought. "But enough about that!" the King said as he got up and walked back to his throne. "There must be a reason you've come to visit, Sergeant. What can I do for you and your family? Is there a famine in your village? Disease? Extreme poverty? Natural disaster?" I shook my head to all of them. "I need you to let me into the vault where you keep The Book," I said. The King's eyes widened again, leaning towards me. "Are you crazy?" he exclaimed. "You know as well as I do that that thing is an undefeatable God!"

"Please, allow me to explain," I said. "You see this form that I'm in? I have to change back into a human within 4-and-a-half days, or I'll die. That Monster God is what ATE my spellbook. You know that I need that spellbook to transform." The King shook his head thoughtfully. "Fine," he said. "I'll let you into the vault after you answer one question: are you doing this alone?" I shook my head and said, "No, sir. My entire village and the Dragon Gods are going to help me." The King looked impressed. "I see you've made some very important friends, Sergeant! By all means, go right in. However…" The King and the Princess suddenly stood up and pulled out the swords they had been keeping at their sides. "The Royal Family of Norad will help you."

I couldn't help but grin. "I'm honoured, Your Majesties," I said. I knew that the Royal Family was extremely competent in warfare, being able to strategize and fight as if they were Gods. "You and Norad's soldiers will be valuable additions to the fight." The King smiled and said, "The fight will be finished all the more easy with 50,000 soldiers on your side." My smile suddenly faded. "Wait a moment… I'm going to need about 50,000 Invinciroids then," I said. "Either that or the ingredients to make that many." The King thought for a moment, then said, "I'll get right on it, Sergeant. I don't know how long it's going to take, but I'll make sure that they are paid handsomely for their quick efforts."

"Thank you, sir," I said. "The pharmacists of Palermo are some of the finest in the world. I'm sure that they'll be quick about it." I then thought of something. "While I'm here, do you mind showing me around the castle? It's been 18 years, and I've forgotten what the castle looks like, especially with the amnesia I received from a hit on the head…" The King grinned and said, "Of course, Micah! I'd be happy to. We'll go to the lab first, mainly to ask the pharmacists about those potions." After the King told the Princess to take over for a little bit, we were off to see the castle. The entire village was brought along for the tour, too.

We, of course, went to the laboratory first. Things seemed like they would get off to a good start. However… "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE THE INGREDIENTS?" That's right; they didn't have enough ingredients to make the 50,000 Invinciroids. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but we're short on Gold Pumpkins! We have everything else, but Gold Pumpkins are hard to come by these days…" Suddenly, I heard a giggle in the background. "Oh, please!" a voice that I identified as Fortuna's said. "You don't need Pumpkins OR Gold Pumpkins to make Invinciroids!"

Fortuna stepped up to the front of the group and said, "If you have the experience, you can make Invinciroids with only Formuade and Autumn Grass!" The chief pharmacist looked shocked. "Go try it!" Fortuna urged. Reluctantly, the chief pharmacist got a Formuade and some Autumn Grass, and mixed them together in a flask. When it was finished, he drank the potion. "…It… It works!" he said, shocked beyond belief. "Tell me; what is your name?" he asked Fortuna. "My name is Fortuna. I'm the daughter of Sharance's doctor and witch and a univir!"

The pharmacist didn't seem surprised, mainly because of how experienced Fortuna seemed to be. "Will you direct this project, Fortuna? I need your help teaching my employees this shortened recipe!" Fortuna smiled and said, "Sure! However, only extremely advanced pharmacists like yourself will be able to do this, so I'd like my mother and father to help us." The pharmacist didn't have any problem with this, and Fortuna, Marian, and Ondorus left our group.

Next, we went to the armoury/smithy, partly to request many competent sets of armour. However… "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH WORKERS?" That's right; the armoury/smithy didn't have the time, people, or resources to make that many suits of armour. …Or weapons, for that matter. Suddenly, Gaius and his family hurried up to the front. "We'll gladly help you!" Gaius said. "I'm Sharance's blacksmith, but blacksmith is really just a hobby. I love making things, and I don't feel comfortable when I'm not holding a hammer. Please let me help you!" The blacksmith in charge gladly accepted his and his family's help, and we lost not only Gaius, Evelyn, and Vera, but Sofia, Daria, Lacey, Raven, Hazel, Monica, and Hannah as well. "Believe, if anyone can make 50,000 suits of armour within 3 days, it's Gaius. Don't worry," I told the King.

We went everywhere else in the castle, from the kitchen (where we lost Rusk, Carlos, Carmen, Collette, Laura, Blaise, Nero, Sherman, and Michel due to low rations) to the stable (where we lost Shara, Kuruna, Michal, Michol, my mother, and Sakuya due to how nervous the animals had been acting lately). By the time were at the last place of our tour, only Shino, Zaid, Samson, my father, and I were left in the group. Everyone was helping out around the castle. The last place that we went to was the training room, where the soldiers were trained. "This place brings back memories, eh, Mike?" Samson asked me. I nodded and said, "It most certainly does, Samson; this where we first found out that we were both going to join the military, after all!" I sighed, remembering something. "This is also the place where I proposed to your sister…"

"Don't worry about it, Mike!" Samson said. "You forgot all about her due to your amnesia! I never had any hard feelings about it. Besides, Filly married a business tycoon 8 years ago. You're probably just a thing of the past to her." I smiled. "That's good. I'd feel horrible if she still had feelings for me." You see, Samson has a younger sister named Filipina. She used to be my girlfriend. We were going to getting married right after I returned from the mission that cost me my memory, but, well… it cost me my memory. I married Kuruna and had my first child the same year I went missing. A few years later, Filipina came to claim me, but found out that not only was I married, but I also had three young children. That's actually how Samson met Shara in the first place.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE SOLDIERS AREN'T STRONG ENOUGH FOR THIS?" we heard the King yell. "Oh, great…" the five of us said at the same time. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty! But the soldiers aren't strong enough to face this God!" That's when I realized something. "Wait a moment, guys!" I said, turning to my friends. "We're all fighters, why don't we train the soldiers until the preparations are complete?" Everyone smiled, and I knew that I had just given all of us a good idea. "Your Majesty! Captain-General!" I called out to the King and the captain-general. "All five of us are fighters. We've been in combat virtually our whole lives. Would you mind if we trained the soldiers until everything is prepared for the battle?" The captain-general thought this over, and said, "By all means!"

So that's what we did. We worked every single soldier to the bone that day, and we didn't let them rest until sundown. The soldiers had obviously never received a workout like that before, because they were all exhausted. "Alright, soldiers! I'm sure you're all extremely tired!" I said. "That's good; it means that you worked hard today. Now, when you get home, which should be in no later than an hour from now, I want you all to have a nice supper, and go to sleep no later than 9:00! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"

"YES, SIR!" every fighting soldier in the entire castle called out with a salute. "Good!" I said. "COMPANY DISMISSED!" Remember, I'm a Sergeant. I was extremely familiar with how to address the soldiers. The soldiers marched out of the training room to go home and do exactly what I asked them to do, and the rest of us went home. Everyone in the village either stayed at the inn or with relatives. However, I still had some business to attend to… And his name was Major Loue.

Whew, this was a rather long chapter! And I was worried it was going to be too short! Anyway, we're going to meet Micah's brother, Loue, in the next chapter. It's going to be lots of fun. Oh, by the way, I just want you to know that there are going to be 4 deaths in this fic.


	7. Chapter VI: Louie, Louie, Louie, Louie

Chapter VI: Louie, Louie, Louie, Louie…

I was so incredibly nervous. This would be the first time I'd seen Loue since he was 9. He was 27 now. I missed his teenaged years and his early-adult years. As my family and I wandered about town, trying to find the gate, I wondered what Loue had become. I already knew that he had followed in my and Dad's footsteps by becoming a military man, and I knew that he was engaged to the Crown Princess of Norad, meaning that he'd be King Consort someday. But that was all I knew.

My family and I (not including my parents) finally found the gate. I looked for a lone new recruit to ask about Loue's whereabouts. I wanted the soldier alone so that I could ask in complete privacy, and he needed to be a new recruit so that he wouldn't recognize me at all. I finally found one. "Excuse me, soldier," I whispered loudly to the boy, startling him. "When will Major Loue be coming back?"

"Oh, um, h-he should be back in about an hour and a half! …Sir!" the soldier replied. "There's no need to call a normal citizen Sir, soldier," I told the soldier. "S-Sorry!" he replied. "Never mind that," I said, brushing the matter aside. "When Major Loue comes back, tell him that someone is waiting for him in the secret hiding place." The soldier looked at me quizzically, but agreed. I took out my gold sack, and said, "10,000 Gold for your efforts, soldier," handing him the said amount. The soldier beamed and exclaimed, "Thank you, sir!" That time, I knew he wasn't talking to me as a superior.

After that, my family and I returned to my parents' house, but we didn't go inside. "No, the secret hiding spot is outside!" I said. "The entrance is under the porch. It used to be a storage center and shelter for this house in times of severe war hundreds of years ago." I then realized that in my absence, Loue may have neglected the passage. "Michol, do you sense any sort of life forms under the porch? Or objects like spider webs?" Michol immediately closed his eyes and acquired a serious face. "No," he said, "there's nothing there. It's completely clean. It's been like this since… very… early this morning…" Michol opened his eyes.

"_Oh, God bless you, Loue,_" I thought, relieved. "_Yosef's Gift must have touched you last night._" …To make a long story short, Yosef's Gift is another name for prophetic dreams in Norad. I might tell you the legend later. "Looks like this is your lucky day, Michal!" Michal was thrilled. She has entomophobia, you see; she's terrified of bugs. In fact, the only bug that she's not afraid of is the ladybug. She loves them, in fact. But enough about that. My family and I crawled under the porch; I was leading the way. "Just follow me, everyone. I know it's extremely dark, but that'll change."

Finally, we entered the storage shelter. There was a lot of tumbling, and Kuruna's horn nearly skewered Michel, but managed to get in without any casualties. "It's so dark, Daddy!" Michol commented. "I know, Michol, but Daddy'll fix that very soon. Now, where's that light…?" I suddenly bumped into it. "Ow. …Here it is." I turned the light on, and the shelter was illuminated with an eerie glow.

"Creepy!" Michol squealed in his oh-so-adorable way. The place was just as I remembered it: it was as big as our bedroom, and the only thing in it was a large treasure chest and the lamp we put in here. "This place brings back memories… I hope Loue hasn't told anyone about this place," I mumbled. "This place is amazing!" Kuruna exclaimed. "Tell me, how did you come about this place, Honey?" I smiled. I saw no harm in telling her about this place. "You'd better get comfortable, 'cause this is a bit long," I said.

"Twenty-two years ago… My goodness, has it really been 22 years? Anyway, 22 years ago, when I was 16 and Loue was 5, I was babysitting Loue. Mom and Dad were out shopping for our basic necessities. Loue and I were just messing around on the porch, playing games like hide and seek and tag and the like. While we were playing hide and seek, I was it, and Loue went to hide. He crawled under the porch. However, he kept on crawling until he entered the shelter, which none of us knew was there. I was at 85 when I suddenly heard the call of, 'Big Brother!'

"When I heard Loue's cry, I immediately panicked, and asked where he was. 'Under the porch, Big Brother! Come under the porch!' So, that's what I did. I crawled under the porch, which, by the way, was filthy, wondering what in the world Loue could have found. When I finally reached the storage shelter, I could barely see anything. When my eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, I looked at Loue in shock. 'This place is incredible!' I said. 'Our own secret hiding place! Will this be our little secret?' I asked. Loue nodded, and we pinkie swore on it. 'Earth, Fire, Sea, Air! I declare a pinkie swear!' we recited.

"Suddenly, we both noticed the treasure chest right in the middle of the shelter. 'I wonder what's in there…' Loue said. 'Well, let's find out!' I replied. So we walked over to the treasure chest. 'Can I try to open it myself, Big Brother?' Loue asked me. 'I don't see why not,' I said, and Loue proceeded to try to lift the top. It was extremely heavy, though. After 30 seconds of struggling, I asked him, 'Would you like some help?' Loue shook his head and said, 'No, I can manage.'

"Unfortunately, I ended up having to help him. 'My goodness!' I said. 'This IS heavy!' But, we were able to open it. And boy, oh boy, it was something beautiful, let me tell you. 100,000 Gold, in fact." The jaws of my family dropped. "Yes, you heard me: 100,000 Gold. Loue and I had the same reaction. 'There's… just so much!' I said. 'Where are we going to put it all?' We just stood there for about a minute, marveling at our incredible find."

"What did you spend the money on?" Michel asked me. "_It figures that Michel would ask that,_" I thought with a smile. "Nothing, actually," I said. "In fact, if my memory serves me correctly…" I had a bit of trouble remembering. Eighteen years and amnesia can do that to you. Then, I remembered. "Five steps to the left from the front of the treasure chest… turn right and walk four steps… turn left and walk three steps… and turn left again and walk three steps… The money should be right here!" I patted the spot with my paw to confirm it. "We put the money in wineskins made from monster hides. Mom worked at the vineyard at the time, so she taught me how to make them."

I realized something. "I wonder if Loue's been storing memories in the treasure chest… Kuruna, do you mind helping me lift the top?" I asked. Kuruna agreed, and we did, with a lot of effort. When we finally lifted the top, we found that there was only one thing in the chest: Loue's Diary. It even said that on the cover of the journal! "His… diary?" I said quizzically. "When in the world did he start a diary?"

I knew that it was wrong, but I decided to take a look through his diary, to find out what he had been through these pasts 18 years. I looked at the first page, and saw, "He started it exactly a year after my disappearance. …And he wrote in it on the first day of every season over these 17 years." I flipped to a random page in the journal, and found that it was the last entry that Loue had written. I looked through it, shocked at his hardships. I decided to read it to my family. Loue wouldn't be here for a while yet.

"_Spring 1, Year 18 of Micah's Disappearance_

_Today I proposed to my sweetheart, Crown Princess Jane. She accepted my proposal, but she didn't smile. Although… even though she didn't smile, I could feel her aura, and it was overjoyed to the point of hysterics. I proposed to her with a Happy Ring with multiple Sapphires of different colours set into it, hoping that it would make her smile. However, I soon found out the reason why she didn't. Jane told me that we might not be able to have children. She's barren. I don't care, though. I love her with all my heart, soul, and mind. I can only hope for some miracle…_

_It's been exactly 18 years since Big Brother disappeared, and 8 years since he was publicly pronounced dead by who is now my future father-in-law. However, just because it was publicly pronounced doesn't make it true. King Vani has been sending search parties all over the globe for Micah, and lately, I've been being assigned to these search parties. None of the regular citizens know about the secret search parties; they only mourn his death. …I'm starting to lose hope. I'm beginning to believe that Micah really is dead. Killed by those 5 monsters… I never even got to say goodbye… I was mad at him that day for breaking his promise to spend time with me. Maybe if I hadn't been so stupid, he wouldn't have gone after those monsters… Maybe he was chasing those monsters for my sake…_

_I was so heartbroken when I found out that he was missing. I cried myself to sleep for a whole season. In the early days of Micah's disappearance, Mom and Dad fought a lot. They fought about Micah, they fought about me, they fought about who would pay for whatever necessity… Mom started to lose weight and get wrinkles. She looked old. It was heartbreaking… Then, I started to purposely hurt myself so I would feel Micah's pain. I wanted to know everything my brother had gone through. I was, and still am, so obsessed with him that I even joined Norad's military to imitate him. And, as you know, Diary, that's how I met Jane. I never realized how much Big Brother and I look alike until Jane mistook me for him. I had even styled my hair like him. I wanted to live up to my brother's legacy as a military man, but…_

'_I know you're trying to be like your brother, Captain-Lieutenant Loue, but… well, you're not Sergeant Micah. You're Captain-General Loue. Micah and Loue are two completely different entities. So be Loue, not Micah.' That's what the King told me. He was right. I stopped trying to be just like Micah, and went back to my true self. But, I'll always secretly wish to be like Big Brother. I've recently been promoted to Major, which I'm happy about, but I know that Micah would have been Captain-General by age 24. I'm 27."_

"…Poor uncle Loue…" Michal said sadly. I could tell that this had affected her deeply. "I can't believe that he actually resorted to hurting himself… all for the sake of being just like me… DAMN IT! That idiot! That's how he lives up to my legacy? Imitating me to the point of trying to feel my pain? I never knew… I was such a huge role-model. This is my fault… I put my family through so much pain. Mom looked so healthy when I saw her! I never guessed that she and Dad had fought to the point of premature aging!"

I cried for a little bit, trying to think of how Loue felt, losing so much at such a young age. All I could do was cry. I couldn't go back in time to fix everything. I couldn't do anything but cry. And I hated it. After I got all of that out of my system, my family and I prepared for Loue's arrival. "He should be here in a few minutes," I said. We waited for a little bit, and Michol suddenly said, "Someone's coming this way." The lamp was low enough for the mood, and I had put Loue's diary away so he would never know that I had looked through it.

"Who's there?" we heard a voice coming towards us say. "No one knows about this place but me. Who's there?" When he climbed into the room and saw me with my wife and children, a look of disbelieve greeted me. "No… It… It can't be… Micah?" I smiled and nodded. However, as I feared, a look of absolute rage came over his face. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE, YOU…!" Fists raised, he came at me and punched me in the face. The blow sent me tumbling backwards into the wall. "You've… gotten stronger," I said, winded. "OF COURSE I DID, YOU IDIOT! EIGHTEEN YEARS IS A HELL OF A LONG TIME!" Loue proceeded to punch me again and again.

"Why aren't you fighting back, Micah? Has 18 years affected your ability to dodge and counter?" I wasn't able to reply. He was punching me extremely hard. I had told my family not to interfere with Loue's rage, but… once I started to cough up blood, Kuruna cast a paralyzing spell on Loue. "THAT'S ENOUGH, LOUE!" she shouted with extreme authority. "Ku…runa… Don't… interfere… I… deserve this…" I said weakly. "Release him…" Kuruna obeyed, but Loue suddenly seemed out of steam. "I was only going to punch you until you coughed up blood anyway, Micah." Casting a healing spell, he said, "Tell me, why are you here?"

I thanked him and explained my predicament. When Loue found out that I might die, a look of fear crossed his face. "I may have wanted to beat the living daylights out of you, but I don't want you to die!" he said, terrified. I turned to my family and said, "Forgive Loue, he can be rather curt." That's when I realized that I hadn't introduced my family to Loue. "Loue, these are my wife and children: Kuruna, Michal, Michel, and Michol." Loue walked up to each one of them. He gave Kuruna a peck on the cheek, kissed Michal's hand (to which Michal blushed severely), shook hands with Michel, and hugged Michol. "You three kids can call me Uncle Loue. Kuruna, you may call me whatever you'd like. …Wait a moment… Are you a univir?"

Kuruna grinned and said, "Yes, I'm the Elder of the Univir Settlement in Sol Terrano Desert. I'm more than 4 times your age, comrade." Loue's eyes widened, and said to me, "I know you were always a ladies man, Micah, but how did you manage a catch like her?" I smiled and shrugged. "I honestly have no idea myself. I've never been able to figure out how I was able to convince her to live in harmony with the humans of Sharance." Kuruna grinned even more, seeming amused. "You were in Sharance?" Loue exclaimed. "We looked all over the world for you, and we never thought to look in Sharance? By all the Gods of every religion, we have got to be some of the densest soldiers in the world…"

"Dad's the mayor of Sharance, Uncle Loue," Michel chimed in. "He has been for about… 5 years now." Loue seemed impressed by this. "Knowing your leadership, I'm sure Sharance is the most incredible villages in the world," Loue said. I blushed slightly and said, "Well, I-I don't know about that… A-Anyway, Loue, I'd like you to help me to defeat Palermo's Monster God. Would you like to help?" Loue smiled and nodded, saying, "Anything for Big Brother." I did a little happy dance and cheered. Everyone looked away, embarrassed for me.

When Kuruna and I went to bed that night in my old bedroom (which was also Loue's), she asked me something that I won't forget: "Why didn't you fight back?"

"Because I deserved much more than I got."

**My goodness, this was a very, very, very long chapter. The title is a bad reference to the '70s song Brother Louie, just to let you know. Oh, and, anyone who gets how I got the coordinates of where the money was stored in the ground gets a lifetime supply of the virtual snack of their choice. It's a doozy! The answer is somewhere in this chapter, by the way. Oh, and that person also gets to name the next chapter if the correct guess is made within a month.**


End file.
